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Insurance question: neighbor's house fire damaged my house

dullard

dullard

Elite Member
Lightning hit my neighbor's house and the house caught on fire. The heat melted my siding. So far I can't see any other damage, but I haven't gotten under the siding yet or looked at the roof.

We both have the same insurance agent (State Farm). The agent claims that since it was an act of God, then the neighbor has no liability and thus I have to pay a separate deducible. The damage is likely about the same amount as the deductible. Is this normal? Or is the agent trying to squirm out of paying out?
 
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Your agent is correct. Your neighbor would have to be do something negligent for you to file a claim under his policy. Example if he had been burning leaves and your siding melted covered under his policy. Lightning strike on his house not caused by his neglegence you file on your policy.
 
Short answer: The agent isn't trying to wiggle out of paying but also isn't doing a good job of explaining.

Long answer: Too long to list here.

I would be happy to provide more specific advice via PM.

In general I will say this:
There does not appear to be negligence on the part of the neighbor;
Absent negligence you'll need to file a claim with your own policy;
Saying the lighting strike was an "Act of God" is a very poor choice of words by the agent since Act of God is likely a specific exclusion under the policy; and
If you really want the neighbor to pay you can see if their house was properly grounded against lightning strike as that may constitute negligence.
 
Thanks for the answers. I've never had to deal with insurance this way and wasn't sure if I'm being treated properly.
 
Whether you believe in God or not is not the issue. Lighting strikes, tornados, things like this are commonly called acts of God and insurance treats them as such.

Keep your opinions not related to the question to yourself.
 
slag said:
Whether you believe in God or not is not the issue. Lighting strikes, tornados, things like this are commonly called acts of God and insurance treats them as such.

Keep your opinions not related to the question to yourself.
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Depending on where you live, tornadoes fall under wind damage on most policies. Not every policy covers tornadoes but most do and they are not treated like acts of god. Same goes for lightining.

Acts of god in most policies are like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Flooding isn't an act of god but its always an excused from coverage.
 
Wreckem said:
Depending on where you live, tornadoes fall under wind damage on most policies. Not every policy covers tornadoes but most do and they are not treated like acts of god. Same goes for lightining.

Acts of god in most policies are like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Flooding isn't an act of god but its always an excused from coverage.
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Earthquake isn't an act of god either. Act of god is usually reserved for things like asteroid striking the Earth; other, more common perils are often covered by the various wind, water, fire, and earth movement definitions, clauses, coverages, and exclusions.
 
dullard said:
Lightning hit my neighbor's house and the house caught on fire. The heat melted my siding. So far I can't see any other damage, but I haven't gotten under the siding yet or looked at the roof.

We both have the same insurance agent (State Farm). The agent claims that since it was an act of God, then the neighbor has no liability and thus I have to pay a separate deducible. The damage is likely about the same amount as the deductible. Is this normal? Or is the agent trying to squirm out of paying out?
Click to expand...
This is why God should pay for it. Ba$TARD! :colbert:
 
dullard said:
We both have the same insurance agent (State Farm). The agent claims that since it was an act of God, then the neighbor has no liability and thus I have to pay a separate deducible. The damage is likely about the same amount as the deductible. Is this normal? Or is the agent trying to squirm out of paying out?
Click to expand...

Yep. Your neighbor has no control of where lightning strikes, so long as they don't have something stupid like a lightning rod on top of their house.


highland145 said:
I would guess yes, an act of God, so pay twice. If a wind storm knocks his tree on your house, the same would apply.
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For the sake of argument, I imagine if the parties involved wanted to battle it out, it could be possibly argued that one neighbor was negligent in keeping care of their tree if it was known to be rotted through.
 
Gooberlx2 said:
For the sake of argument, I imagine if the parties involved wanted to battle it out, it could be possibly argued that one neighbor was negligent in keeping care of their tree if it was known to be rotted through.
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Yes. Seem to remember hearing that if you knew the tree was dead, it fell on your house, the insurance company could refuse to pay.

I would think you'd have to sent a certified letter to your neighbor so you have proof.
 
Gooberlx2 said:
Yep. Your neighbor has no control of where lightning strikes, so long as they don't have something stupid like a lightning rod on top of their house.
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I'm not sure you know how a lightning rod works...:hmm:

The purpose of lightning rods is often misunderstood. Many people believe that lightning rods "attract" lightning. It is better stated to say that lightning rods provide a low-resistance path to ground that can be used to conduct the enormous electrical currents when lightning strikes occur. If lightning strikes, the system attempts to carry the harmful electrical current away from the structure and safely to ground. The system has the ability to handle the enormous electrical current associated with the strike. If the strike contacts a material that is not a good conductor, the material will suffer massive heat damage. The lightning-rod system is an excellent conductor and thus allows the current to flow to ground without causing any heat damage.
Click to expand...

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/natural-disasters/lightning7.htm
 
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Gooberlx2 said:
Yep. Your neighbor has no control of where lightning strikes, so long as they don't have something stupid like a lightning rod on top of their house.
Click to expand...

You do realize that a lightning rod would have actually PREVENTED this problem from occurring, right?
 
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